Doctor Who: Filming Locations in Wales

In "The Unquiet Dead", the Ninth Doctor and Rose land in Cardiff on Christmas Eve, 1869. Charles Dickens is giving a reading at the theatre when the blue vapour of the Gelth leaves the corpse of Mrs Peace and scares the audience away. The production filmed the scene of Dickens' performance here in one day, on 19 September 2004. The New Theatre opened to the public on 10 December 1906.

Visitor guidance: The theatre is on Park Place, Cardiff; check its programme for performances.

The same episode borrowed a second town. The theatre's exterior, along with Dickens' departure scene, was filmed at Cambrian Place at Swansea Marina on 20 September 2004, so Victorian Cardiff is partly Swansea. The marina sits behind the barrage at the mouth of the River Tawe, in south Wales.

Visitor guidance: Swansea Marina is in Swansea, south Wales; Cambrian Place is the filming spot.

"The Empty Child" is set in London in 1941, during the Blitz, with Rose carried off by a barrage balloon. Barry Island stood in for a bomb site in 1941 London, and location filming also took place at the Barry Tourist Railway. Today the island is known more for its beach and Barry Island Pleasure Park.

Location precision: The sources say the island stood in for a bomb site but do not name the exact spot; the pin marks Barry Island.

Visitor guidance: Barry Island has a beach and a pleasure park.

In "Boom Town" the Doctor lands the TARDIS in Cardiff to recharge using the energy of the Cardiff Rift, and the water tower plaza becomes the show's Cardiff. It was the plaza's first appearance on screen. The night shoot of Rose and Mickey in front of the tower had to run two nights, because it was below the temperature at which the fountain automatically shuts off. The name honours the writer; "plass" is Norwegian for square.

Visitor guidance: The square is in Cardiff Bay.

Boom Town's Slitheen villain, Margaret Blaine, has become Cardiff's new mayor, and the production wanted to show off how beautiful the area could be. One scene was shot in front of the Millennium Centre in February 2005, where the building appears as itself. It would return in later episodes, including "Bad Wolf" and "New Earth".

Visitor guidance: The centre stands in Cardiff Bay.

In "The Rebel Flesh", the Eleventh Doctor, Amy and Rory reach a factory housed in a former 13th century castle monastery on a remote island, where workers control self-replicating "Gangers". Scenes outside and inside the monastery were filmed at Caerphilly Castle in late 2010. The castle had already served in "The End of Time", where the East Gatehouse became a dungeon in the fictional Broadfell Prison. At around 30 acres, it is the second largest castle in Britain.

Location precision: The monastery exists only in the story; Caerphilly Castle is the real filming stand-in.

Visitor guidance: Caerphilly Castle is in Caerphilly, South Wales.